Divided Loyalty
by axlpfan
Summary: Artemis Fowl glanced around, taking in the disaster around him. A few meters away, a piece of ceiling caved in and rubble smashed down upon the floor; a computer on the far wall burst into flames and exploded. How did I get into this mess…?


_AN: This story was written in response to a challenge a few years back. The first few sentences were given and a short story had to be completed from it._

Artemis Fowl glanced around, taking in the disaster around him. A few meters away, a piece of ceiling caved in and rubble smashed down upon the floor; a computer on the far wall burst into flames and exploded. _How did I get into this mess…?_ Artemis thought back over the previous week, analyzing his thoughts…

**Divided Loyalty**

A little under a week ago, a group of human archaeologists stumbled upon a tunnel and, curious, they followed it down. As it happened, they had just discovered one of the more smaller dwarf mines, closer to the surface. The dwarves that were there, were caught unprepared and consequently caught on film as well. Said dwarves panicked and fled instead of taking control of the situation so the humans could be mind wiped. That evening, the footage was all over the news, worldwide, causing mass hysteria both above and below ground. The humans sent teams back to the tunnel, attempting to catch a dwarf or find something else but found the tunnel to be collapsed. This angered the humans causing more than a few countries to begin sending probes and such below ground in an attempt to discover something. Any fairies that lived above ground were at a loss what to do. Many flocked to the various shuttle entrances to return below ground while others wanted to remain on the surface should the humans decide to attack Haven or Atlantis.

Below ground, the Council was also at a loss. It was finally agreed on, albeit somewhat reluctantly, that they should contact one human they felt could help them. Artemis Fowl the Second. They weren't sure if they could trust him or not but they were desperate. Artemis knew that the moment he got the call. If the fact that they were turning to him wasn't enough to prove it, the rather large amount of gold they offered him definitely was.

When it first happened, Artemis himself wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't imagined having to chose a side although he should have foreseen it. The People knew how wise it would be to have him as an ally even if he was a Mud Boy and wasted no time in calling him it seemed. Surprisingly it wasn't a very hard decision when he thought about it. The People were mostly peaceful, preferring to stay to themselves. They gave up life aboveground and had retreated below to avoid further fighting with the humans. Humans tended to be greedy and were not afraid to go to war. The People had, until now, remained undetected, and in doing so could be considered harmless unless provoked. Unfortunately, humans have a tendency to react badly to things they don't understand or fear. It had been inevitable after the People were discovered that a full out war would ensue. It had been proven centuries ago that the two races just couldn't get along. It would have been impossible for Artemis to stay neutral and he realized that fact quickly.

When it came down to it, he chose to help the People. He would have done it without the gold, but seeing as though they offered…why not get a little bonus for his troubles? The only thing that made him hesitate was that in siding with the People, he would be going against his own species. It was enough to make him pause for a second. But only a second. What did he owe mankind? Nothing as far as he was concerned, whereas he owed the People a lot. Well, maybe not all the People, but the few he did, he felt he couldn't let them down. He had his family and his new conscience thanks to the People.

So, it was with very little hesitation that Artemis agreed to do it. But what was he to do exactly? The best way, obviously, would be to get the humans to forget about the entire thing. But it would be impossible to mind wipe that many humans. So the next best thing would be to convince them they either imagined it or it was fake. Since the dwarves were caught on film, that eliminated the 'imagining it' scenario, leaving him to somehow convince them that what they saw was not real. It wasn't as difficult as he had originally anticipated. Anything could be done with technology these days. And even what he couldn't do on his own, he had Foaly and Fairy technology.

The next day, he was able to meet with the U.N. and was partially successful. He had gone equipped with an iris cam and an ear piece to allow him to hear Foaly and let those below ground, mainly the centaur and the Council watch the proceedings. Artemis was able to show them step by step how the footage of the dwarves could be made with a computer, referring to special effects in the movies. Grudgingly, most of them agreed that they had more than likely been played. In fact, Artemis was just about to admit success when everything went wrong.

Two calls came through at the same time. Foaly frantically reported that another team of humans had returned to the site and apparently attacked by a group of LEP officers under orders from Sool to take down any 'threats' including humans coming to close. The U.N. also got the call and proceeded to have Artemis 'removed' from the building. As the French representative so kindly put it, Artemis had sided with the enemy.

Needless to say, Artemis was furious by the time the guards had 'escorted' him from the building. He had threatened to sue them for dirtying his brand new Armani suit. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Holly, who had been standing outside the building, would have found it all hilarious.

Artemis wasn't the only furious one. The Council, when they found out, immediately removed Sool from his position as Commander and replaced him with Trouble Kelp. Artemis was forced to seek a new plan, but not before letting anyone who was listening have an earful.

One day later, a small terrorist group, turned themselves in, proclaiming that it had been them who had shot the archaeologist team. No one noticed the slight glazed look in their eyes from being under the _mesmer_. Holly might have felt guilty for framing someone else, but this group had a reported history of terrorizing and harming others, often innocents. The next day, the original archeologist team that had discovered the dwarves, also came forward and admitted that their footage was fake. The majority of the U.N. was forced to admit that Artemis had been right and had summoned him to apologize.

Unfortunately, not everyone was informed right away and a group of humans, eager to fight and still believing that Artemis was the enemy, had gone to Fowl Manor and proceeded to attack the manor. Luckily, Artemis junior had left Butler home and so as soon as Butler saw them coming, he got Artemis Sr. and Angeline down to the bomb shelter below the manor and locked them in there. Butler himself had gone back up and attempted to stop them but was unsuccessful. He sustained few injuries, all relatively minor. The group who had done it, was a mixed group of people from various countries, including France, Britain and a few other countries. The Irish, who throughout the entire ordeal had remained quiet, were furious that one of their own citizens had been attacked without cause. Artemis had returned home to find his manor in shambles.

Now, Artemis looked around at what was once his study and sighed sadly. He had chosen his side. He had aided the People. They were once again safe and hidden from humans. They had lost nothing and yet he had lost his home. He had instructed Butler to take his parents to one of their vacation homes so they could calm down and allow Artemis to deal with the mess. He was grateful at least that his parents and Butler were safe. Juliet had called from the United States after hearing about it all and had offered to come help, but he declined. None of his family had noticed the subdued attitude he had taken on. But someone else had.

The sound of someone making their way across the rubble reached his ears causing him too look up. Holly was making her way slowly over to him, picking things up and moving them out of her way. When she reached him, they both stayed silent for a moment. Finally, Holly looked up.

"Trouble's sending a squad up here to help repair everything. More will be up later tonight." She paused for a moment before: "Are you okay?" She asked softly. Artemis couldn't bring himself to make a sarcastic remark. He merely stayed silent. Holly sighed.

She knew what it was that he was feeling. He had chosen to help the People and in return, his own people had turned on him. Not all of them, granted, but it was the concept of it. He had known the risks and knew what helping them would bring, but that didn't mean anyone would be prepared for it or even would have guessed for it to go this far. The question on Holly's mind was, if given the chance, would he still make the same decision, knowing what it would bring? She wasn't so sure she could turn on her own People to help humans. She wasn't so sure she was as brave as Artemis in that sense.

She watched as he spotted something and bent down to pick it up. Curious, she walked closer to take a look and froze. He had in his hand the same coin she had once given him. The hole through it and everything. To remind him of the spark of decency he had. She watched his face closely to see if he would reveal anything of what he was thinking. Much to her surprise, a slow genuine smile spread across his face. It was small, but it was there. He grasped the coin in his hand tighter and then after rubbing his thumb over it to wipe it off, placed it in his pocket.

Turning to Holly, he said simply, "Thank you." He then walked out of the study to access the rest of the damage done to the Manor.

Holly stood staring after him in shock. He had just lost his home and been betrayed by his people and yet he thanked her?

Artemis walked, still smiling. He knew he had done the right thing. He had helped those who had helped him before and didn't regret it for an instance. Would he do it again? Yes. He also knew that not all humans were like those who had done it to his manor. He had already gotten quite a few calls from various people offering to help with the rebuilding. He had denied, at the time not wanting to talk to anyone. Even now he still didn't want their help, but he appreciated it. Rubbing the coin in his pocket as he walked, he realized that despite the fact that his manor was in shambles, he was actually rather proud of himself.

But how to explain everything to his parents?


End file.
